THIS INVENTION relates to an automatic flushing system for use with toilets and urinals.
A conventional automatic flushing system is described in Australian Patent specification No. 522747 and relates to a cistern comprising a tank having a siphon outlet at the base thereof and having an intermediate partition or tray like vessel equipped with a large float valve dividing the tank into upper space and lower space. The partition accommodates the float of a ball-cock that admits water directly to the tray. There is provided a valve operated orifice in the tray which opens when the water level in the lower space exceeds a predetermined level. The lower space is in open communication with the siphon outlet which empties the lower space when the predetermined water level is exceeded. The invention is characterized by the provision of a vertical tube which extends through the tray and provides communication between the upper and lower spaces which is adapted to remain filled with water when the lower space has emptied. The upper end of the vertical tube is adapted to extend into the upper space providing a valve seat. There is also provided valve means associated with the valve seat slidably mounted about the upper end of the vertical tube and also remotely operated means for raising or unseating the valve means whereby the valve means remains unseated until the upper space empties into the lower space.
While the flushing system as described in Patent 522747 was satisfactory for normal purposes, it was an essential requirement that it could only be used with cistern tanks having an intermediate partition thereby dividing the cistern tank into upper and lower tanks or upper and lower spaces. It was also considered that the automatic flushing system of Patent 522747 was unduly complicated in construction and operation and therefore was relatively expensive to manufacture or install.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an automatic flushing system that substantially alleviates the abovementioned difficulties associated with the prior art.